Puri: A day after a person was killed in Cuttack after his neck got entangled by a manja thread, another person fell victim to the kite thread in Puri town Monday. Luckily however, Bhanjabihari Patra of Kundhaibenta Sahi in Puri town escaped with injuries and is currently being treated at the Puri district headquarters hospital (DHH). He is said to be out of danger and stable.
According to sources, Patra was riding his bike to Badadanda to fetch medicine for his son. He failed to see the dangerous manja thread as he was speeding. The lethal thread got entangled around his neck causing serious injuries.
Another biker along with the help of a policeman rushed Patra to the DHH where he was admitted and underwent a surgery.
Since the number of injuries by hanging kite strings has increased, the Commissionerate Police conducted raids in Cuttack city Monday, detaining a trader who was allegedly supplying the forbidden manja thread for flying kites in Jagatpur locality of Cuttack.
Manja is a glass dust-coated thread. This thread is popular among kite flyers since it is easy to snap the thread of competitors.
In January 2016, the Orissa High Court had ordered the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar police to take steps to halt the sale of Chinese manja after a girl was killed.
